ASUM Questionnaire

I haven't recieved much feedback on these questionnaires but the results of ASUM are in and I was graded at a B while Eric Burlison was given a C. I am somewhat surprised because my answer to their first question is potentially contriversial. 

The Associated Students of the University of Missouri (ASUM) is a student lobbying organization funded and operated by students.  ASUM, founded in 1975 represents the interests of the 74,000+ University of Missouri students in the governmental process. The State Legislative Team is currently doing assessments of every legislative candidate running in the November 6th, 2012 Election The goal of the spreadsheet is to aid students in their decision on which candidates to support. The grades are only given based on the candidates’ opinions and actions on higher education related issues. ASUM is a non-partisan organization and no grades are given based on partisanship.

1. University of Missouri Funding: Legislators are asked to pass a budget yearly even with a difficult fiscal climate. Legislators are often forced to make budget cuts, including cuts to higher education. The University of Missouri has been facing enrollment increases at 35% since 2000 with operating budgets below fiscal year 2001. With budget shortfalls the students have to pick up the tab making higher education even more difficult for many to achieve. ASUM supports fully funding the University of Missouri based on the appropriation request from the University of Missouri Budget Office.

I have a degree in Illustration (two actually) but I would support cutting funding for art and literature programs from the state budget and redirect that funding towards things like engineering.
Obviously I don’t hate the arts. But I know if you stop funding the arts, they are not going anywhere. People are always going to create and seek out art. Having an art degree is rarely going to help you find a job (and it only marginally can improve your skills in an era where you can watch videos of your favorite artists teaching their techniques).
Still cutting the arts seems harsh right? (yes I talk that way) Not if you also consider the fact that having more engineers will create more demand for artists. Engineers make things, artists make them pretty. That’s how it works.
Chuck Palahnuik once jokingly said that Journalism Degrees should come with welding certification because when he was a welder they all had Journalism Degrees. Artists should use public funds to get a trade to fall back on the first time instead of getting an Arts Degree and then going back to school again to get something useful.
Art School was a very fulfilling time of my life, which I really enjoyed, but a decade later I am still paying the loans back with little return on my investment (and I paid much more than the minimum until I started having kids).
Our State Assembly has been cutting programs for people who actually need them (like programs for the blind). I’m sure that there are ways to raise enough revenue to keep all these programs but I am a pragmatist and realize that the Republican majority are not going to budge unless we have something to give up as well.
If anyone is to suffer in this economy it should be artist because at least we can turn suffering into something.

2. Student Curator: The University of Missouri Board of Curators consists of 9 curators including an at-large curator. University students do not have a voice because only one student representative communicates their viewpoint in meetings, and that student does not have a vote. ASUM feels that students should be given a true voice on the Board of Curators because they are paying for the majority of the UM system’s budget and students from out of state have no representation. True representation cannot be achieved until a student has full voting rights. The Associated Students of the University of Missouri works to replace the at-large curator with a true student curator voicing the perspective of the student.

Absolutely. I don’t understand why there is really any resistance to students having a say. It sounds like a vote of no confidence in the student body.

3. Landlord/Tenant: Many University of Missouri students are tenants, and ASUM seeks to encourage respectful relationships between the landlord and tenant. ASUM has taken a stand on students being taken advantage of by landlords who wrongfully withhold their security deposits. The last couple of years, ASUM has supported legislation that requires landlords with 20 units of more to put security deposits in a separate account from their own, co-mingling of personal funds and security deposits would be avoided.
I support that. Landlords are taking that money with the pretense of using it to cover damages from the tenant, not an extra couple hundred bucks for the they-why-not of it. A separate account makes it less tempting to spend that money and makes them more accountable.


4. STEM: STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics initiatives. STEM goals include increasing enrollment in STEM related education programs and increasing the quality of that education. ASUM supports legislation that aids these students in gaining internships and a separate STEM fund that is available for after school programs, scholarships, and teacher education. STEM requires special attention because taxpayer investment technology and STEM education has indirectly produced more than half of the nation’s economic growth, 91% of U.S. STEM jobs will require some college or better by 2018.

Because of our high standard of living America needs to be an innovator society because manufacturing is going to be cheaper overseas. Mass production cannot be done here the way it once was. Most products made in America will be custom, digital, or high end products.
Missouri has to get ahead of the curve because we are competing with every other state that also comes to this realization and legislates towards the reality of global markets.